Fire Closes Tunnel Between Virginia, West Virginia

Workers clean up debris after the fire in the East River Mountain Tunnel was extinguished.

Photo credit: Submitted Photo

Smoke could be seen for miles as a tractor-trailer burned in the East River Mountain Tunnel Friday. The 5,400-foot tunnel carries Interstate 77 between Virginia and West Virginia.

“A tunnel fire is similar to a basement fire,” Bluefield Fire Departmen Jeff Warden told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. “It’s lots of heat, lots of smoke. The outcome came out pretty good, but it was a consolidated effort that put water on the fire. It was also a joint effort of emergency service agencies from both states.”?